The move appears to have set the government on a collision course with the European Union, which launched an unprecedented investigation in January into the reforms, which could result in punitive measures.

The Constitutional Tribunal annulled new legislation passed by Poland’s right-leaning government that has divided Poland for months, leading to opposition protests and pressure from Poland’s allies to reverse the rules.

While it bolsters the moral position of government critics alarmed at what they see as an attack on democracy, the judgment is nonetheless powerless to resolve the crisis because the conservative government of Prime Minister Beata Szydlo says it won’t …

In the leaked draft opinion, the Venice Commission said an ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland poses a danger to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. It emphasized that, in a democracy, mutual control and checks and balances on institutions…

The vote is being held in the Lomza and Augustow region because its senator vacated his seat when he was recently appointed provincial governor. Among the six candidates is Anna Maria Anders who represents the ruling Law and Justice party.

Newly-publicised documents have revived claims Lech Walesa, the giant of Poland’s struggle to overthrow communism, was a secret police informant in the 1970s – allegations still fuelling an old feud among post communist leaders.

The latest in a series of anti-government protests in Poland has brought thousands of people into the streets. But this time they also came out to defend the man who led the pro-democracy movement that toppled communism.

Thousands of Poles chanting "We will defend democracy!" and "Lech Walesa!" have rallied in Warsaw to protest moves by Poland’s three-month-old conservative government that they say undermine freedoms and the constitution.

Saturday’s march was organised by the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, which was formed in November in reaction to moves by the ruling Law and Justice party that have essentially paralysed the Constitutional Tribunal, preventing it from acting as a check on new government legislation.

The Venice Commission was called to Poland by Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski for an opinion on the legal solutions contained in the amendments to the Constitutional Tribunal.
The draft report said that “as long as the situation of constitutio…

Saturday 27 February the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD) are planning a “We, The People” march in Warsaw. The protest movement was formed in the wake of the Polish parliamentary elections in October 2015, when the rightwing Law and Jus…

Lech Walesa, the former Polish president credited with helping to bring down the eastern bloc, has admitted he made a “mistake” after his signature was found on a document saying he had agreed to work as an informant for the country’s communist reg…

Families in Poland are anxiously waiting to receive their first 500zl (€114) monthly benefit for each second and subsequent child. This was one of the most talked-about election promises announced by the ruling Law and Justice party ahead of its gene…